Submitted by: Nadia Fedotova, Higher Education
Policy Fellow
Summary
Russian Ministry of Education has declared education
reforms as government’s priority since 2001. This paper gives a brief description
of some corrective structural and institutional reform recommendations
interfering with the current reforms process.
Background
Russian higher education is based on a set of cornerstone
principles such as fundamentality, universality, phase structure, and systematic
approach. These principles have proved their importance and validity, having
allowed the Russian education to become a remarkable phenomenon. Despite
certain drawbacks, «Russia's educational system, with broad access,
and high levels of scholarly achievement, has long been a source of strength»
(World Bank estimation).
Post-communist social transformations led to liberation
of higher education system, subsequent backward processes have counterbalanced
unification processes within the educational system of the Soviet period.
Official ideology has been removed from the curriculum, new private sector
in higher education has developed, new state laws have outlined basic liberal
principles of state policy in the sphere of education.
Presentation of the Issue
However Russian higher education reforms policy
pose problems that require action. 90-s' are not the period of reforms
of education, since the changes were not systematic and coherent, general
direction was unclear. They mainly borrowed western forms of training,
but the unsystematic character of the borrowing quite often destroyed former
experience and did not lead to something better.
Current situation and Scope of the Problem:
Financial:
The financing and management of "professional education"
(especially higher education) is traditionally the responsibility of the
Federal Government. The main problem facing (and the most difficult one)
Russian education is that for 10 years it receives insignificant small
share – from 15% up to 40 % of it’s indispensable costs. Government does
not have the money necessary to sustain current levels of higher education,
wages and stipends, for construction and maintenance of faculty and staff
housing, academic buildings and dormitories, and for development of well-equipped
laboratories. Education is not receiving the resources it needs to
operate
Resource shortage is generating all other policy
relevant issues.
In this situation Russian Ministry of Education
has chosen to follow the liberal project of introducing State Nominal Fiscal
Obligations (GIFO), the system when each secondary school student, depending
on his achievements gets from a state a certain sum of money (never covering
the total tuition fee). This voucher can be used applying to any higher
education institution, and the universities are supposed to be extremely
interested in attracting the students with the better performance, which
come with the money. The GIFO is perceived by the reformers as a way of
solving almost all of the problems the higher education face – financial,
equity and access, increasing quality of education, decreasing corruption
etc.
This proposal is counterbalanced by a more “traditional”
approach of increasing state budget , which is more popular among higher
education community. The third idea is to introduce student loans.
Access and Equity
In 2002 tuition fee free higher education preserved
at a level of approximately 50%.5 mln 427 thousand students in public and
private institutions, 2 mln 842 thousands – tuition fee free.
Previously in Moscow higher education institutions
hosted 25 % Moscow residents and 75 % non-Moscow residents. Nowadays 75
% is from Moscow. The declining access to highly regarded universities
and institutes in Moscow and St. Petersburg because of the escalating costs
of travel and living away from home.
Quality
Decrease in fundamentality. In the 90s this feature
of Russian education system could be found in just a few leading universities.
Most universities focused rather on applied studies that had negative outcomes
in the time of informational revolution and creation of "knowledge society"
in the West. As a result, the quality of theoretic knowledge and academic
qualifications of graduates decreased remarkably.
Reforms of Russian quality assurance system are
of special importance because of the current decrease in quality of academic
education, as a result of fast, drastic reforms and commercialisation of
education.
Market Relevance
Analysis show that market irrelevance of higher
education can be found in overproduction of new specialties – especially
psychologists, lawyers and economists.
Also the new intermediate degree (BSc) is a possible
point of mobility and not really relevant to the labour market - Most employers
consider the bachelor a “raw product” rather than a highly educated professional.
“Specialist” or “master” are considered a valuable professional. Until
recently, over the past 10 years, a market demand for bachelor-degree professionals
has not yet emerged in Russia.
In Russian higher education system, where the first
level corresponds to four-year period of study, the only goal of the two-level
education system is to ensure a high-quality selection of best students
for study at the second level. Upon the successful completion of the second
level, graduates receive one of the two degrees – specialist (mostly for
practical work) or master; the latter can continue education for an advanced
degree and has the right to teach at higher education institutions. So
far Russian universities even those that formally have already switched
to the two-stage system, prefer to produce professionals with a master-like
qualifications rather than a bachelor's degree, even for the areas of standard
practice, bachelors have to go for a master degree.
Absence of Statistics
Head of the Higher Education and Research Division
of the Council of Europe: we lack information about Russian higher education
and it's specificity.
also Russia lacks an accurate, easily accessible
database from which policy makers or educational managers can assemble
information about bachelor/specialist/master ratio, unit costs and achievement
levels, graduates employment rates etc.
Higher Education Policy
There is a dangerous tendency in attitude towards
higher education, leading often to mismanagement. Those higher education
officials who are in charge of reforms share often ignorant and arrogant
position towards Russian higher education: "from the middle 60-s Soviet
system of education has gradually lost it’s leading positions in the world,
due to exhausting of the model of education", "we have so many problems
in HE, that integration into European or world standards is not considered".
At the same time estimations (for instance coming from Western experts)
present another picture: "Russian education has a proud tradition. Given
the strong tradition of education excellence in Russia, it is not surprising
that there is a lag in making obvious to all what those inside the education
system already see as a problem of serious and growing proportions”. (World
Bank), "Russian higher education (VUZy) enjoys a long history of tradition,
of culture, of excellence".
Key Issues
To tackle the problems of higher education I would
propose following the methodological approach called “Glocalization”
= globalization + localization.
Russian HE reforms should take into
consideration international higher education processes. Global transformations
make it impossible for any country to undertake HE reforms with regard
to national problems only. Russia should take into consideration higher
education integration processes in Europe (Bologna process), emphasis on
life-long education, emergence of virtual universities, distant learning,
greater responsiveness to market demands.
But integration of Russia's system of higher
education and professional training into the international system of higher
education, should go with the full respect for the achievements and traditions
of the Russian higher school (“without sacrificing traditions of academic
excellence”. – WB), and a focus on its further development.
In this regard Bologna process, stimulated by Bologna
Declaration is of special interest.
Bologna Declaration has a goalof establishment the European area of higher education and promotion of the European system of higher education world-wide. to pursue this goal a number of tasks have to achieved:
Assessment of alternatives
The alternative to the corrective reform proposals
would most likely be the worsening of the current situation, and in particular
Corrective Policy Solutions.
Convergence with “world standards” can not go as unilateral adoption of western HE models: we mechanically copied them without adjustment to national specificity of HE and national traditions of education. It should be a multidimensional cooperation: Russia can share it’s educational achievements.
Ministry of Education should make efforts at international level convertibility of Russian HE diplomas and qualifications (at least for those issued by the leading universities, institutes and institutions of Russian Academy of Sciences).
The role of higher education in lifelong learning should be emphasized: where people will come back to higher education periodically to update their competence both by increasing their specialization and by reorienting their fields of specialization.
Investments: where feasible, the responsibility
for paying for specific training courses should be assumed by employers
who could be eligible for tax reductions or other incentives.
There should be increasing allocations for federal
budget to encourage recruitment and retention of high quality staff.
Bachelor/Master system (4+2 system) and classical system of longer integrated curricular leading straight to a Specialist degree should at the time exist in parallel. if not - making bachelor graduates employment the joint responsibility of both Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor at least for the present time.
Development of educational statistics. Filling the international information gap with regard to Russian HE.
Introduction of student loans and changes in the funding arrangements for study so that graduates benefited financially from higher education, and could contribute towards the costs of their education. These financial arguments do not apply to those who decide to stay on to undertake postgraduate studies with a view either to entering the academic profession or the wider research support community to industry and other sectors (writing off loans).
The establishment of a new partnership between universities and the private sector in order to exploit information and communication technologies and develop distance learning.
Training educational administrators for management skills.
Supporting current Russian initiatives with regard to quality assurance, but not allowing it to develop into a very formal and bureaucratic structure.
Avoiding premature specialization and focusing on fundamental knowledge. Development of interdisciplinary knowledge and approaches, and shifting to “Global education” which with it’s interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies extends student’s awareness of the world in which they live by opening them to the diverse heritage of human experience, and has an emphasis on the appreciation of multiple perspectives while continuing to depend on the traditional branches of specialist knowledge.
Timing
Since the higher education reforms are ongoing
it is necessary that the correctives are introduced as soon as possible,
the costs of action may increase as time goes by. It follows that action
needs to be taken without delay.
Financial impact
The costs of the structural changes described above
imply increasing allocations for federal budget. assuming that higher education
shape the image of the society, this is not the big cost. Other measures
would not induce substantial costs, and may prove economical on the long
run.
Communications Analysis
The policy measures proposed in this study imply
intervention into the reforms process. They would necessarily conflict
with the interests of the recent reforms development ideologists who are
in charge with the reforms. Therefore the success of the implementation
depends largely on the pressure that the higher education community and
the public can exert upon those interested in supporting some of current
Ministry of Education initiatives. It is vital that the people get to know
the problems of the higher education, and have an idea of what solutions
can help. Public awareness could be raised with the help of publishing
discussions, incresing participation of more universities and higher education
institutions in the reform making process.